


Under the Layers

by ried (riiiied)



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riiiied/pseuds/ried
Summary: Ikrie's clothes prove to be a bit unwieldy during a rainy day.
Relationships: Aloy/Ikrie (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56
Collections: Rare Pairs Exchange 2020





	Under the Layers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Entwinedlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entwinedlove/gifts).



“Come on, over here,” Aloy beckoned at Ikrie as she herself quickly ducked into the small cave, away from the pouring rain.

While imminent destruction had been avoided with the defeat of the Eclipse cultists, Aloy’s work was far from done - in order to fully restore GAIA, she needed to set out in search for all the other missing subroutines. Done with revisiting all the important locations from her previous explorations, she was now heading further west, having come down from the Cut and passing through the Nora Sacred Lands - in the middle of which, she encountered Ikrie, who had decided that she was set to leave the Banuk lands and explore other lands. She had asked to tag along with Aloy for part of the way, and Aloy figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have another hunter have your back.

The small cave was one Aloy had previously used as shelter while out and about, and the remains of a campfire could be seen a few paces from the entrance. “We can take shelter here until the rain lets up. After that, the river’s not too far from here - there should be plenty of fish and geese we can catch for food. Not far from there is also the grazing area of Striders where we can stock up on materials.”

“I sure made the right choice coming along with you, didn’t I. It’s like having a free guide to the lands beyond the ice!”

Aloy scoffed as she set down her items. “You can pay using your freeze ammo later when we’re hunting machines. But for now, we rest. And…” She patted at her drenched top. “Do something about these soaked clothes.”

“I second that.” Ikrie waved the hem of her coat back and forth, causing drops of water to spray all around her. “Ugh, these things are so annoying to move in when they’re drenched.”

Aloy took a look up and down Ikrie’s figure. She was still fully clad in her traditional Banuk gear, thick with furs and layers - quite a proportion of which had soaked up the rainfall thoroughly. “That does look… not the most comfortable. But wouldn’t you have been used to getting it somewhat wet from rolling around in the snow?” she asked, as she fished out a flint from her pouch, making sure it was dry enough.

“There’s rolling around in snow, and there’s having water poured right down on you. This outfit is good for one, not so much for the other.”

With the addition of some sticks lying around inside the cave, Aloy had managed to get a small bonfire going. “I did warn you about what the weather would be like around here. Do you have anything else to change into?”

"About that." Ikrie scratched her chin. “It’s not that I didn’t know I’d likely be needing a different wardrobe, it’s that… Lauvuk might not care about me hanging around her place and doing whatever hunting trials I want, but many of the more traditional merchants often aren’t exactly thrilled about doing business with snow-ghosts.”

“Oh.” Aloy was taken back to her time growing up as an outcast, when only Karst was willing to sell them anything, and she felt an even deeper feeling of kinship with her travelling partner. "That sounds like how things used to be for me here, as an outcast."

"Seems like people don't change much wherever they go, huh?"

"Doesn't mean we can't change, though. And by that, I mean _you_ have to change. Your clothes, to be precise. Once we go further west through the deserts of the Sundom, you're going to melt under all those layers."

“Melt, huh? Right now, actually I feel closer to freezing,” Ikrie said, her shoulders shaking slightly from a cold breeze blowing into the cave.

“Let’s get you out of some of those layers, then. Get them to dry off around the fire.”

“Undressing me already, huh? I get why you’d want to show me off, but wow, you’re even more forward than I thought.”

Aloy gave her an exaggerated eye-rolling gesture, before tugging at her outermost coat. “I said _some_ of those layers, not all. Anyway, come on, I bet you’re itching to get out of this soaked thing by now.”

“All right, if you say so,” Ikrie said, as she unfastened her outermost coat. The garment hit the floor with a wet thud, a testament to both its bulk and the amount of water it had soaked up. “Oh, that feels much better already.”

As Ikrie then continued to make away with her outer slacks, Aloy finally took a closer look at her figure underneath all the layers. She looked smaller than Aloy was used to with her full get-up - she was still clearly built sturdily as hunters usually are, but it was apparent the layers had made up a non-insignificant portion of the bulk in her usual figure.

“What’s up? Rendered wordless by my figure already? I haven’t even taken off half of everything.”

“You just look… different like this. And… let me help you complete that half.” Aloy stepped forward to take off Ikrie’s head gear, revealing black hair bunched up neatly, a few strands falling down together with some drops of water to frame her face.

She definitely could get used to Ikrie looking like this. So much so, that she had stepped further forward and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

After an initial moment of silence with a surprised expression on her face, Ikrie grinned. “That certainly gives me motivation to start dressing differently. If you’re already all over me just from me taking off a few layers, just how crazy can I make you go with some strapping proper new outfits?”

“I’m sure you’ll look fine in whatever you’ll be wearing. We’ll get something when we pass by a merchant afterwards. But for now, let’s get warm first,” Aloy said, taking a seat in front of the bonfire.

“Can’t say no to that,” Ikrie replied, sitting down right next to her.


End file.
